I take a lot of pictures, and now that Chesney has her ebay business going, my 20D has been seeing a lot of use. I’ve put it off for far to long–after I dropped my camera onto pavement the second time (yes, the second time), I decided it was time to pay money and buy a decent camera gear bag that would hold all my stuff safely.
The Tamrac 706 in all its glory.
I already have a holster bag in case I want to only bring my camera, and liked backpacks, but didn’t like that they didn’t make the camera readily available, so I decided on a shoulder bag…one like Lem’s Canon bag. I visited the local camera shop and checked out the models that they had on hand. The Lowepros were nice and are pretty popular in the forums, but were a little pricey. Tamrac had some bags that were comparable but cheaper, so I found one that I liked which was the right size for my camera system: the Tamrac 706 (I actually thought it was overpriced, so I went home and found a slightly used one on ebay for less than a 1/3rd of the cost).
The 706 Model was about the right size for my setup: my camera, a telephoto, two zooms, a prime, and a flash, with room to grow. I liked that it didn’t look like one of those boxy soft case coolers.
A close up of the
quality materials
Like Lowepro, Tamrac build quality is excellent. It’s made out of heavy duty stuff, which I don’t imagine will rip or tear easily. Padding wrapped with leather covers the handle and the shoulder strap, and the metal clasps that attach the shoulder strap to the bag are solid and strong. Alternatively, I could detach the shoulder strap and use the bag as a hip pouch. Lastly, it has loops at the bottom to attach a tripod.
So far, I’m very happy with the bag. It’s a great quality, inexpensive bag which will keep my camera keep safe and padded in case I drop it again. Since it’s a shoulder bag, It wouldn’t be too comofortable after long hikes, but I don’t do too much of that anymore.
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I’m glad to see that you finally got a camera bag. Looks like a good one. How much was it on ebay?
Tamrac bags are definitely nice, though it’s hard to tell without looking at them in person. They really need to redo their website. I remember a while back being pretty dissappointed in their site especially compared to Lowepro’s, and I see it’s still just as bad. The thing I really like about Lowepro is their modular SlipLock system which allows you to customize your setup. I often take off the side lens pouches from my Offroad bag and attach them to belt loops if I don’t want to carry the whole bag around.
This does look like a good all-purpose bag, though.I could use a bigger bag like that…
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I bought it for $60 including shipping from ebay. It’s selling for $97 on B&H., but it was $149 at the local camera store! I really did want to buy from the store and support my local camera shop, but there’s no reason to mark it up 50% above what you can get it new online.
We should redo their website.
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Cool bag. I need to get a new one. After the shoulder strap on my Nikon bag completely tore off, I’ve been borrowing my friend’s Canon bag, which Kuya mentioned in the post. That bag isn’t mine.
I borrowed a Tamrac backpack from another friend here, so I could take it on the Yosemite trip. It was really nice to have it on the hike up to half-dome. I’ll probably end up buying a shoulder bag rather than a backpack, though. I don’t do too much hiking these days.